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Sunday, December 1, 2013

Weight Loss Anyone?

I've been very careful with my diet since Aug. 1st...and
I've been very good. I decided that I would allow myself to eat
whatever I wanted on Thanksgiving and I was surprised that I didn't want
as much as I thought I would. My portions were small (it doesn't take much to fill me up now!) and I enjoyed some
dessert. Sweet things seem extra sweet to me now.

I'm
close to my goal for the year - 50 lbs. by the last day of the year.
Then I will re-assess and set another goal. I might not quite make 50
but I'll be close. I feel better, my knees don't hurt as much and I
have a lot of energy. Well, truthfully, I always have a lot of energy
but I think I have more.

It hasn't been that hard. I'm
using some herbs, some vitamins and other little "tricks" that help keep
my metabolism up and my appetite down. I'm looking forward to getting
back on routine today. And I've had help from Rod....my
taskmaster. Silently sitting there commanding me to spend time with
him...I hate him...and I love him...or love what he is doing for me.

I know that traditionally people start to work on their weight after the new year. Stores begin hawking the latest diet fads and the junky drinks, snacks, etc. to go with them. These things are usually filled with GMOs and artificial sweeteners. You do know that artificial sweeteners are one of the worst things you can put in your body...don't you? Can we say excito-toxin? Did you know that one of their side effects is weight gain? Did you know that the majority of reports to the FDA on adverse food reactions are because of artificial sweeteners?

Put those little pink, yellow and blue packets down and start using something simple and natural - stevia! Organic Girl Stevia can be found in all the big box stores...even Walmart!

JUST SAY NO TO ARTIFICIAL SWEETENERS!
Let me share some of the things that I am doing that have helped me loose weight without going hungry or craving sweets.

Eat breakfast - I truly eat less throughout the day if I take the time to have a bit of breakfast. Eat protein for breakfast - scramble an egg or try some Greek yogurt (my two favorite breakfast foods.) I will also make sausage from some of our organic grass-fed beef and add that to my breakfast.

Take a good vitamin. Hint ~ you won't find one at Walmart! Check at your local health food store for a recommendation - plant based is best!

Eat something with hot peppers first thing in the morning to speed up your metabolism. I eat a tablespoon of my wing sauce (sometimes on my eggs!) - or hot strawberry jam.

Green tea, green tea, green tea. It is healthy for you, it tastes good and it boosts your metabolism. I sweeten it with stevia! I drink it hot in the morning and evening and usually enjoy a glass of it iced between 12:00 and 2:00 pm. The catechins in green tea help to shrink fat cells.

Take CLA with your green tea in the morning. CLA helps to relax fat cells so that they can "let go" of their contents and shrink. Unfortunately they never "go away". I've read that the recommended amount is 3400 mg. I take a bit more just because of how it is packaged, I've never seen a dosage that equals 3400 mg.

Green Coffee Bean Extract - I take it each morning and I believe it has truly helped me meet my weight loss goals each month.

Acacia powder is a tasteless fiber that give you that "full" feeling. Acacia is a small perennial shrub that grows in Texas. It suppresses your appetite, boosts your metabolism and helps break down fat. I sprinkle it in my yogurt, soup, juice etc. I also drink a glass of water at the same time.

Eat fermented foods, pickles, veggies, etc. This helps your overall digestion, works on detoxing your system and adds plenty of good bacteria to your gut. A healthy gut equals a healthy body!

Use real foods. Ditch the boxes that "make life easier" because they lack nutritional value and can actually be harmful to your health. Use good fats - olive oil, butter, peanut oil, coconut oil, red palm oil etc. Learn to cook from scratch! It isn't hard...just takes a bit more time.

Buy Local and Buy Organic. Make your first stop your local farmer's market. If you need to shop at the grocery store choose organic.

Eat in Season as much as you can. By choosing foods that are seasonal you save money. You also get fresher more nutritionally dense food because it wasn't picked early and shipped for days. This adds up to healthier meals. This also means no watermelon in December!

I also exercise. I don't do it so much for weight loss as I do for strength and bone health although it is helping with weight loss. My mama suffers tremendously with osteoporosis. Weight bearing exercises help you to have healthier bones. I need all the help I can get in that department.

By making some small changes to my lifestyle I am making great strides in reaching a healthy weight and being healthier in general. I rarely crave sweets anymore and I have more energy. It truly hasn't been that hard. If I can do it, surely you can too!

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About Me

I am mama to four wonderful guys. I have two sons at home and two married sons close by. We live on a farm in TN. We seek to live a simple, self-sufficient life as we depend on God for His direction and His grace.
“But we urge you, brethren, that you increase more and more; that you also aspire to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you, that you may walk properly toward those who are outside, and that you may lack nothing. I Thes.4:10-12
May God grant us the grace to live passionately, yet simply, for Him!

My Favorite Herb Books!

The Encyclopedia of Essential Oils

Prescription for Herbal Healing

On My Nightstand

The Scriptures

Favorite Quotes

“God is not a belief to which you give your assent. God becomes a reality whom you know intimately, meet everyday, one whose strength becomes your strength, whose love, your love. Live this life of the presence of God long enough and when someone asks you, “Do you believe there is a God?” you may find yourself answering, “No, I do not believe there is a God. I know there is a God.” ~Ernest Boyer, Jr.

We do not get involved in sin to create problems...we do so to fill a void in our lives that we're not allowing God to fill.

“It is not what we say or feel that makes us what we are. It is what we do.....or fail to do.” Marianne, BBC 2007 production of Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility” ~Andrew Davies

"A man who lies to himself, and believes his own lies, becomes unable to recognize truth, either in himself or in anyone else, and he ends up losing respect for himself and for others. When he has no respect for anyone, he can no longer love, and in him, he yields to his impulses, indulges in the lowest form of pleasure, and behaves in the end like an animal in satisfying his vices. And it all comes from lying to others and to yourself."~ Dostoevsky